8 Jul 2021
Research shows 74% of heat-related illness in dogs seen by vets is caused by exercise in hot weather, with 13% caused by hot weather and 5% of cases coming as a result of being confined in a vehicle.
James Westgate
Job Title
Image © Wingham Photography
New research has shown that exercise in hot weather accounts for almost three-quarters of heat-related illness in dogs seen by UK vets.
Work done by the RVC, in collaboration with Nottingham Trent University, showed that of all triggers, exercise accounted for 74%, while 13% of heat-related illness was caused by hot weather and 5% of cases came as a result of dogs being confined to a vehicle1.
The illness can affect any type of dog, but certain breeds and types of dog, including brachycephalic dogs, are at increased risk.
More than a third of owners of flat-faced (brachycephalic) dogs reported that heat regulation is a problem for their pet2. English bulldogs are 14 times more likely to suffer heat-related illness compared to Labrador retrievers, while French bulldogs are 6 times more likely3.
Dan O’Neill, who chairs the Brachycephalic Working Group (BWG), said: “The latest VetCompass research at the RVC shows that it’s not just bright sunshine and being confined in a vehicle that can cause heat-related illness. Factors such as overexertion and humidity also play very significant roles; it doesn’t take a great amount of exercise to have potentially dangerous effects when the weather is hot or humid.
“In hotter weather, we urge owners to consider exercising their dogs in the early morning or late evenings when temperatures are cooler and to be especially careful with breeds that are flat-faced to avoid potentially devastating heat-related illness in their dogs.”
Dogs Trust provided a Canine Welfare Grant for the recent UK research studies that are cited in the BWG position.
Veterinary director at Dogs Trust Paula Boyden added: “Dogs Trust has campaigned for many years on the ‘hot dogs’ issue, providing guidance to owners to help them look after their dogs in hot weather, but sadly every year we hear of dogs dying as a result of heatstroke.
“The findings of this research are so important in highlighting the impact of exercising dogs in hot weather.”
The BWG is made up of major stakeholders in dog welfare in the UK, including:
1. Hall EJ, Carter AJ and O’Neill DG (2020). Dogs don’t die just in hot cars – exertional heat-related illness (heatstroke) is a greater threat to UK dogs, Animals 10(8): 1,324.
2. Packer RMA, O’Neill DG, Fletcher F and Farnworth MJ (2019). Great expectations, inconvenient truths, and the paradoxes of the dog-owner relationship for owners of brachycephalic dogs, PLOS One 14(7): e0219918.
3. Hall EJ, Carter AJ and O’Neill DG (2020). Incidence and risk factors for heat-related illness (heatstroke) in UK dogs under primary veterinary care in 2016, Scientific Reports 10(1): 9,128.
